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Dr. John Snow’s map of the 1854 cholera outbreak in Soho, London via Wikimedia Commons
Concepts of spatial representation
Geographic or spatial representations are the basis for a scientific interpretation of spatio-temporal aspects of the real world. Science customarily considers these to be valid rules (axioms).
For example, Waldo Tobler formulated what has come to be known as the first law of geography: “Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things” Tobler 1970{:target="_blank“}. By contrast, Benno Werlen takes an action-centered approach. He points out that real neighborhood relationships of objects or feature expressions permit spatial constructs, and that spaces can also be defined by e.g. people who do not necessarily act in spatial proximity. In other words, spaces can be socially constructed (see, for example, Werlen 1993{:target=”_blank"}).
But even in the quantitatively scientific representation of the world, Tobler’s concept of neighborhood is only valid in certain contexts. For example, the concentration of nitrogen in the atmosphere is comparatively homogeneous and continuous, while geologically continuous units on continental plates or disturbances from one meter to the next, such as a ditch or wall, implies a setting that virtually counteract the neighborly relationships.
So we have to find a way to define and integrate such conflicting spatial representations in a traceable and reproducible way.
Limitation of world representations
Despite these limitations, representations of space are permanently and urgently needed in order to document, analyze and communicate comprehensible spatial information. In our field of geography, we need a combination of methods that make spatio-temporal relationships comprehensible, reproducible and adequate.
This session
This unit serves to give you your footing in this course by tackling the notion that big questions are spatial. First, it gives a short idea of the complex (inter)actions between humans and nature using the IPBES framework “nature’s contributions to people” (NCP) as its context. The next part outlines spatial concepts and their digital representation. Finally, the last part derives some methods for describing spatial context of heterogeneous spaces.
Learning objectives
At the end of this unit you should be able to
- outline the major interaction of nature and people according to the NCP framework
- recognize spatial relationships and classify important abstract concepts
- understand when spatial proximity explains processes and interactions robustly, i.e. relationships